Stop herbicide spraying on our roads!

Lanark County and the Townships of Lanark Highlands, Drummond/North Elmsley, Beckwith and Montague are planning to use the herbicides Clearview and Truvist which destroy most or all broadleaf (i.e. non-grass) plants, including milkweed, a plant critical to the survival of the endangered monarch butterfly. Food species for local pollinators stand to be severely damaged or destroyed.

The herbicide Clearview contains aminopyralid which has been banned in other jurisdictions because of its ability to contaminate groundwater. Truvist can also leach into groundwater and contains aminocyclopyrachlor which causes tree death. Both herbicides have been implicated in lawsuits in the United Kingdom and the U.S.

Roadside pesticide applicators are not required to post signs after applying herbicides thereby increasing exposure risk for Lanark County families and their pets.

There is excellent medical evidence that pesticides can seriously affect human health, particularly in children (2012 Systematic Review of Pesticide Health Effects- Ontario College of Family Physicians, 2012).

Since an educational approach is the most effective way to prevent harm from wild parsnip, and because the herbicide use is unlikely to eradicate it, we the undersigned demand that the spraying program be cancelled for the 2017 spraying season and in perpetuity.